CELEBRATING International Indigenous Day by teaching kids about the art of weaving. INSTAGRAM.COM/HABIFAIR

Weaving, or pagha-habi in Tagalog, is a delicate process of binding beautiful and colorful fabric and textiles to form a cloth. In the Philippines, weaving is not just a craft filled with passion and dedication, it is also a source of income.

On a deeper scale, it interlaces different communities and cultures from all corners of the nation in one craft.

For 2019, the wonders of the finest, Philippine-made woven fabric and textiles from local weavers were showcased at the Likhang Habi Market Fair, a three-day artisanal trade fair comprised of 52 merchants, artisans, local Philippine cotton farmers and crafters with their own, handwoven products and weaving prowess.

It is a venue for local sellers to show their products incorporated in the most fashionable, ethical and practical ways in the form of bags, clothing, shoes, accessories and other lifestyle products. It is where weavers and other interested parties exchange ideas, market and innovate on new and modern uses of their fabric in the global fashion trends.

REVIVING the use of cotton in weaving. INSTAGRAM.COM/TRYLOCALPH

CRAFTERS showcasing their weaving skills. INSTAGRAM.COM/HABIFAIR

A CLASSIC take on Black and White by Coco and Tres. INSTAGRAM.COM/COCOANDTRES

Aside from these, the market fair aims to preserve the traditional Pinoy heritage: Baybayin workshops and special weaving craft corners — a peek into a local weaver’s work, some of who were the Negros 9 Weavers from Kabankalan.

Traditional textiles such as habol negrense from Negros Occidental, yakan from Basilan, binubudan from Ifugao, binakol and abel from Ilocos, tepina from Palawan, inaul from Maguindanao and a lot more were featured and highlighted through the fair, as well as contemporary pieces like cotton and abaca, to show the versatility of fabrics and textiles in the Philippines.

As there are a lot of variations of textiles in the Philippines that tell different stories of culture, the oldest weaving industry of the Aklan province was honored through The Lourdes Montinola Prize for Piña Weaving, a competition in honor of the late author of a pioneering book on piña, Lourdes Montinola. It aims to recognize the delicate process of turning pineapple threads into works of art.

Piña is known to be the queen of textile fibers. It is made from the leaves of a pineapple plant, and used mostly for the Philippines’ national clothes, barong tagalog and baro’t saya. It is the prime example of the timeless use of the Philippine indigenous fabric.

Bagging the first prize for the second Lourdes Montinola Prize was Raquel Eliserio, a weaver hailing from Balete, Aklan. She is also an owner of Raquel’s Piña Cloth Product (RCPC) that specializes in handwoven piña clothing and started in 2002.

She learned weaving piña from her grandmothers on both sides of the family. Raquel would always tag along with her lolas for market day and watch them weave. “Hanggang sa nung bata pa lang ako natuto na. Tsaka ito yung source of income namin talaga, hanggang ngayon (I started learning and showing interest in weaving since I was young. This has always been our source of income, until now),” she shared.

When asked why piña, Eliserio said it was the easiest thing to work with. “Para sa akin, eto na yung madali eh. Eto na yung trabaho namin, eto na yung kinagisnan ko. At para sa akin, siyempre, kabisado na eh. Mula kasi sa pagtatanim, hanggang sa pag-scraping tapos pag-weaving nasa amin. So, parang nakatulong na din sa pamilya namin na lahat kami involved na din (For me, this is easy. It is also our job and piña is what I was grew up with. For me, I’ve learned everything there is to learn about it ­— from planting to scraping to weaving. From the start to finish. It has also helped our family that everyone is involved in it),” the weaver said.

“For me, I’ve had a lot of experiences with weaving. There are instances where it’ll break, so I had to learn how to fix it while still being creative. I’ve learned how to make designs that I know that’s different from others,” Eliserio shared. “I make the pattern, choose the color. I’m hands-on with the project and make sure I start the process before handing it to others.”

Raquel admitted that she had confidence in her abilities to weave and design but did not expect her win.

Her winning craft was a pink piña-silk shawl. She exhibited the exquisite and classic look of piña through the use of suksuk (supplementary weft float) and renggue (cut-openwork), resulting in a magnificent ecru tissue. Eliserio displayed the highest, technical skill and fidelity in the Philippine weaving tradition.

“We have joined the previous competitions, so this time, I thought, what were the designs that other people weren’t able to do? And what are the different things I can do with the piña? I’ve been doing this in the past, but this time was different,” she said.

The second winning cloth was from De La Cruz House of Piña Inc. and Ursulita de la Cruz followed by La Herminia Piña Weaving Industry.